Friday, February 28, 2014

<> All-of-the-Above is Making a Difference Across America - A cross-post from Energy.gov. During his recent State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated the importance of American energy: "One of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago

House Approves Reckless Package of Anti-Regulatory Bills - Legislation would hobble agencies charged with protecting public health Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a package of anti-regulatory bills that would impede the work of agencies charged with protecting the public's health, safety, and welfare. Under the legislationcalled the "Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency Act" (H.R. 2804)

<> USDA Report Cites Concerns with GE Crops as the Agency Approves New Uses - (Beyond Pesticides) A report released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers the trends of genetically engineered (GE) crops over the past 15 years, since they were first introduced. Responding to increasing GE use, USDA also points to major concerns such as increasing herbicide resistance and higher levels of. . .

<> Subcommittee Examines Access to Affordable and Reliable Electricity - The Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) today began its hearing series on the "Benefits of and Challenges to Energy Access in the 21st Century" with a focus on electricity. The subcommittee examined the benefits of access to affordable and reliable electricity as well current challenges to expanding electricity access.

<> Ohio Moves Closer to Banning LEED's Green Building Standards - Ohio is one step closer to banning the nation's premier green building evaluation process from rating its properties. The Ohio Senate on Wednesday passed Ohio Senate Concurrent Resolution 25 (SCR 25), which would prohibit the use of the LEED v4 green building rating system on public buildings in the state if it gets approval from the state's House of. . .

Thursday, February 27, 2014

<>Climate Change: Evidence & Causes- The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, with their similar missions to promote the use of science to benefit society and to inform critical policy debates, offer this new publication as a key reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative answers about the current state of climate change science.

<>Secy Kerry continues to emphasize climate change is increasingly a national security threat- In an interview with Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC he said, "It is increasingly going to provide major challenges to food security, to water security, to refugee populations which it's going to create, to the stability and instability of countries, to economies. This is growing in its urgency for us to respond to it. And so I will continue down that path." On the Keystone XL project he said, "With respect to Keystone, I am prohibited under the process of  to discuss it publicly. . ."

<>USDA Pollinator Protection Initiative Leaves out CSP- The funds will be available to farmers and ranchers located in the Midwest states of Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin for both technical and financial assistance to improve the health of honey bees, one of our most critical pollinators.

<>Americans Broadly Support Energy Efficiency- Washington, D.C.,February 27, 2014 Efforts to promote energy efficiency enjoy overwhelming support among key political demographics, according to a poll released by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

·OIG report- Response to Congressional Inquiry Regarding the EPA's Emergency Order to the Range Resources Gas Drilling Company (12/20/13)

<> Cool Planet Starts Construction on First Commercial Facility- the company's first commercial facility in Alexandria, LA, designed to produce 10 million gallons per year of high-octane, renewable gasoline blendstocks, as well as biochar, all made from sustainable wood residues.

<>Dollar value of U.S. net coal exports has increased more than three-fold since 2005 EIA: (Thu, 27 Feb 2014) Although coal trade only accounts for about 5% of trade flows in energy fuels, the volume of U.S. coal exports has steadily increased, from 50 million short tons (MMst) in 2005 to a record 126 MMst in 2012. Export volumes set a monthly record in March 2013, before declining in the second half of the year. Coal exports are an increasingly important source of revenue for U.S. coal. . .

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

<> EPA OIG Responds to Open Letter from Sen. Vitter, February 24, 2014 - EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has recently posted a News Release responding to a letter signed and released to the public February 18 by U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Ranking Member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, with questions about an investigation and ongoing audits involving former EPA employee John Beale.

<> State CO2 Emissions  EIA. These estimates of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) are based on the States Energy Data System. The state data include a summary table with total energy-related CO2 by state beginning in 1990, a table with emissions by fuel in 2010 and a table with emissions by sector in 2011. Detailed tables for individual states provide emissions by fuel and sector for. . .

<> Coal Data Browser - The U.S. coal data is collected and prepared for release by the Office of Oil, Gas, and Coal Supply Statistics, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy.

<> Agriculture Secretary Announces $3 Million for a New Program to Improve Pollinator Health - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide close to $3 million in technical and financial assistance for interested farmers and ranchers to help improve the health of bees, which play an important role in crop production. The funding is a focused investment to improve pollinator health and will be. . .

<> Accounting for scientific uncertainty in a dangerously warming world - Most people at some point develop a "Plan B"  in case their first choice of college doesn't accept them, or it rains on the day of their planned outdoor party, or the deal for the house they wanted falls apart. The same principle applies for more dire situations, such as a city having plans in hand for an orderly evacuation in case of a large-scale disaster. We hope such an event will never. . .

<> USDA Announces New Grants to Help Communities Meet Water Challenges in Coming Years - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will make $6 million in grants available this year, and up to $30 million total over the next five years as part of a new initiative to provide solutions to agricultural water challenges. The grants will be used to develop management practices. . .

<> US urges fishing ban in melting Arctic - Washington is urging countries that share the Arctic to ban commercial fishing in the offshore Arctic Ocean, something that will soon be possible for the first time in human history as the ice melts.

<> How to Save Water on Fracking - Among the environmental worries posed by hydraulic fracturing, including the release of methane into the air and contamination of groundwater, one has recently escalated: the concern that the enormous quantities of water used in fracking will leave parts of the country parched. In 2012, fracking consumed some 50 billion gallons of water -- water that many communities can ill afford to. . .

<> U.S. Electricity Use is Declining and Energy Efficiency May be a Significant Factor - U.S. electricity sales peaked in 2007 and have been declining modestly since then. Sales in 2012 were 1.9% lower than 2007 sales, and sales in the first ten months of 2013 are below the same period in 2012. While the economic recession is an obvious explanation for the decline in sales in 2008 and 2009, it is much less clear why sales have continued to. . .

<> Energy trade is a key part of overall U.S. trade flows - (Mon, 24 Feb 2014) EIA says Energy trade has long been a key component of overall U.S. trade flows. Recent developments in U.S. energy production, notably the rapid growth of tight oil and shale gas output, are leading to significant changes in the nation's energy trade flows. Another important factor is consumption trends, which reflect both increased efficiency of vehicles and other energy-using. . .

<> Recent Decisions Affecting EPA's Ability to Enforce PSD/NSR Violations- Recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Third, United States v. EME Homer City[1] and Seventh, United States v. Midwest Generation,[2] Circuits are the newest additions to the growing body of case law concerning the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) enforcement power under the Clean Air Act's Prevention of Significant Deterioration and. . .

<> Wonks in embattled regulatory office are mysterious  but 'not nefarious' - Robin Bravender and Emily Yehle, E&E reportersGreenwire: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 First of two stories about OIRA. On the 10th floor of a red brick building with a leaky roof not far from the White House are offices and cubicles filled with some of the most influential people in Washington. Most people have never heard of them. They're the cadre of wonky bureaucrats in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). . .

<> Seeking Consensus: A New Project on the Energy Collective - "Seeking Consensus" is a new column on TEC which aims to objectively quantify the relative attractiveness of the wide range of energy options available to us. Participation from the community is very important, and this first post therefore asks for community feedback on the structure of this project.

<> Natural Gas Prices Hit 5-Year High of $6/MMBtu - Natural gas prices are up more than 45% this year and have now hit their highest point since 2009, based on record demand and falling supply. "Americans are getting hit in the wallets by huge price spikes and supply shortages, but it will only get worse if we send more natural gas overseas to our global competitors. It's bad enough now, but this is an eerie foreshadowing of the crisis to. . .

<> Utilities Industry Members Applaud Sen. Murkowski's Electric Reliability White Paper - WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) last week warned attendees at the annual winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) that the reliability of the nation's electric grid could suffer unless federal policymakers pay greater attention to the impacts of a range of new factors and forces, including changes in the. . .

Nuclear Waste: Auditors find continuing mismanagement at nuclear fuel plant - The Energy Department has repeatedly and substantially underestimated the costs of building a South Carolina plant meant to turn surplus plutonium from nuclear weapons into fuel for power plants, federal auditors declared in a new report on Feb. 20. The Government Accountability Office said the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration moreover has never completed "root. . .

<> GAO Report On Oil and Gas - Interior Has Begun to Address Hiring and Retention Challenges but Needs to Do More, GAO-14-205. Challenges hiring and retaining staff with key skills needed to manage and oversee oil and gas operations on federal leases.

<> Federal Court Strikes Down Bush-Era Stream-Dumping Rule - Pro-mountaintop removal measure and threat to clean water gets the axe. A federal court struck down a controversial George W. Bush administration rule that opened up Appalachia's streams and waterways to toxic dumping from destructive mountaintop removal mining operations.